Post Hogwarts
by tonksie5
Summary: My first fanfiction. Takes place before James and Lily met their untimely death. This story focuses on The Marauders and their adventures out of Hogwarts and into adulthood. R rating is for future chapters. Please R
1. 1

"Sirius. Sirius, wake up. Siiiiriuuuuusssss! SIIIIRIUUUSSSS! Sirius, you lazy mutt, get the hell up!"

Sirius flung the blankets off of him, landing to the floor, swung his legs over the edge of his bed and leaped into a sitting position. He quickly ran his hand through his hair and rubbed the crust out of his eyes. "I'm - I'm awake. Am I late for class? Oh great, if I'm late for McGonagalls' class again she's going to kill me, or worse, double my homework. James, can you hand me my shirt and -" James cut Sirius off with a laugh.

"Sirius, calm yourself mate. We're not at Hogwarts. Remember, we graduated two months ago." He gave Sirius a good, hard slap on the back and chuckled again.

"Wh- where am I then?" asked Sirius, looking around, a bit bewildered by the well known fact. His vision was still hazy from sleep, so it took him a moment or two to recognize the familiar furnishings covered in dirty clothes and rubbish that was his new home.

James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter all pitched in their money (some more than others) and rented a place close to Hogwarts. The reason for the location was simply because they loved running into their old teachers and classmates. Besides that, they still hadn't gotten over the fact that they were allowed to go to Hogsmeade any time they wanted to. One of the more important reasons though, was that they wanted to keep close to the Shrieking Shack. At least, until they found a better place for their monthly romp.

There was a minute of silence while Sirius sat on his bed, yawning and scratching his head. Then James made a show of clearing his throat, which got Sirius' attention. He looked up at James, expecting him to speak, but James just looked at him, as if expecting Sirius to speak. Sirius was completely confused by this, and after a few minutes of mutual staring, decided he wasn't about to sit there all day waiting for James to speak when James looked at him as if _he_ had cleared his throat.

"Yeah?"

"What's today Sirius?" asked James, half expecting him to remember, but subconsciously knowing not to expect anything short of "today is today, because yesterday was yesterday". As he had thought, Sirius just looked at his feet as if he were trying to remember, when, in actuality, he was just waiting for James to tell him. James sighed through a smile. Then he grinned and said, closer to squealed, "Today you and Remus are coming with me to pick out an engagement ring for Lily!" he stopped, a puzzled look on his face, then " I never thought I'd be so excited about jewelry." The puzzle look continued for a fraction of a second as he reflected on this, then his focus returned to Sirius. "Please hurry up though, I don't want this to take all day. I'm hoping it'll only take an hour or so." James then left the room. Sirius could hear James muffled voice telling Remus about Sirius' waking words. Sirius' just sat there, on his bed, staring at his pinstriped pajama pants. He was trying to remember yesterday, but they were all just quick flashes of moments. Him brushing his teeth, a yellow towel secured around his waist (flash) sitting at a park, punching James' shoulder as squirrel after squirrel ran by (flash) eating dinner, Remus throwing a piece of Peters chicken at Sirius, Peter yelling at Remus in turn for wasting perfectly good chicken (flash) James announcing triumphantly that he planed to marry Lily, and nobody, not even Lily herself, was going to stop him. He then proceeded to pass out, his slack face crashing-landing in a bowl of peanuts. (flash) Remus and Sirius guiding James and Peter to their beds, both beyond drunk, Remus and Sirius not far behind, but sober enough to find their apartment after the fifth try. Sirius chuckled, but it came out a thick, throaty noise due to the thick layer of mucus that had formed from his drooling overnight.

He slowly heaved himself out of bed and wearily made his way down the hall into their only bathroom. He closed his eyes as he released what he was sure to be over a liter full of piss into, on, and around the toilet (morning aim is never good). He then proceeded to strip off his pants and boxers and step down into the curtained off square of flooring that was their shower.


	2. 2

The scream of "Oh bloody hell!", closely followed by the distinct sounds of gagging and repeated spitting came from the bathroom down the hall. Then there were a few loud crashes and slamming, muffled every now and then by the sound of running water. The door creaked open, and out stumbled a soaking wet Sirius. The light yellow towel spotted orange by bleach stains tucked around his waist, soapy water running from his hair down the indentation of his back in a slow, steady stream. A blue toothbrush handle hung from his mouth, toothpaste foam fizzing on both corners and some high on his left cheek. A few stifled words of something being fucked up and a horrible way to start a day came out of his mouth, mingled with saliva and fizzing paste, before he stumbled into his room and closed the door, leaving soggy footprints in the thick shag carpet behind him.

The next time Sirius emerged from the bedroom at the end of the hall, he was dry, clean, dressed, and wearing a regular old smile. The one he reserved for "the ladies" was sleeping off its hangover from last night, and would soon be getting ready for another, what he hoped, long, lady filled night.

"Where we off to first, my _deer_ old chum?" he asked as he pulled out a carton of orange juice.

"Well, Lily's at her mum and dad's for the weekend for her mum's birthday, so we don't have to avoid the shops near her flat. I thought we could try _Sanne's Sophisticated Sparklers _first. The stuff in their windows is really shiny, and girls love shiny things. The shinier the better, right?" James looked uncertain about this thought, and Sirius figured he was looking for some sort of reassurance.

"Of course!" answered Sirius. Giving up the search for a glass, he unscrewed the top and drank from the carton. After one gulp he began to gag. Once he regained control of his reflexes, he explained what had just happened to the worried looking faces of Remus and James, "I just brushed my teeth, so the taste of toothpaste is sti- _was_ still in my mouth. Then I drank orange juice and-"

"Oh." Understanding by similar experiences, both of the worry looks faded and were replaced by disgusted twists of the face that was memory.

"Anyway, continue James. Sorry to have interrupted." Continued Sirius, with a half-hearted wave of the hand and another gulp of orange juice, which ended in one or two hacks and another, not so violent, grimace.

"James," began Remus, starting slowly so as not to offend the overly-excited man that was leaning against the kitchen counter, grinning like a fool, "if you don't mind me saying, I do understand where you're coming from when you say girls love shiny things, but maybe you ought to rethink that just a bit. First off, Lily is not a girl, she is, in fact, a woman. And secondly, Lily doesn't strike me as the kind of _woman _who would want a blinder on her finger."

James stopped to think over Remus' words. He realized that, like always, in the end Remus was nearly always right. Thinking about it harder, he revisited his fondest scenario, but this time he tried to be less romantic and more realistic with his daydream. Before, his dream started with James flying down and dismounting his broomstick to go claim the newly won quidditch World Cup. The stands were chanting joyously, "Potter!" "Potter!" "Potter!". James waving at his fans, taking it all in. Then he would spy Lily, and she would be glowing with love and pride. She would run for him, and he would hand the cup to a fellow team member so as to free both arms. Then he'd scoop Lily up off the grass and swing her around with their foreheads pressed together. She would giggle and he would grin uncontrollably. Then, he would set her down lightly on the ground, their foreheads still pressed together, James holding her as if he never meant to let go. _I love you_, he would say. She would grin and reply, a little short of breath,_ I love you too_. Then they would kiss. He would then take a step back, reaching into the neck of his shirt as he did so. He would pull out a small silver chain, and hanging off of it would be a gold band encrusted with diamonds, and in the middle of it all would be a massive diamond. (James had gone between three or four carats for the center piece, but never really made a final decision. He figured he'd end up getting the five, or even a six, because nothing was too good for his vivacious kitten.) He would then take the ring off the chain as he slowly bent on one knee. She would start to cry, before he could even begin to speak, and cover her rosy face with her whitening hands. He would clear his throat and raise one of his hands, she would gingerly place her hand in his. He would then go on and recite the words he had been practicing for months, fumbling every now and then, watching her fight back the tears. _Lily, since I laid eyes on you, I knew you were something special. I didn't know how to get that through to you, but I never gave up. For some reason, whether it was to get rid of me or because you saw something you thought you might like, you gave me a chance. Now, it is my intention to marry you before you see what a mess you've gotten yourself into. Lily Evans, if you see it fit to go against everything good you stand for and believe in, be my wife. Make the rest of my life as happy as you have made these past fourteen months._ Then, through the tears she had stopped trying to fight back, she would nod her head vigorously and whisper that one word he would have never believed could sound so beautiful. He would then slip the ring onto her finger and stand up, still holding her hand in his. The crowd, who was watching so silently, would applaud, and all the women would 'aw'. Then James' team would hoist them up onto their shoulders and they'd be carried out of the stadium, never letting go of each others hands, laughing, loving.

James shook his head, and (thinking about this scenario reasonably), realized that there were many faults with it. First off, he was at least a year and a half away from joining a professional quidditch team. Secondly, it would take him a year or so more to get to get his team to the world cup. And seeing as how he wanted to marry Lily and start a life with her as soon as possible, he would have to scratch that idea altogether. As for the ring, with Remus' realistic ideas on Lily's taste of jewelry, he had much to consider. _First_ _and foremost_, he thought to himself, _I have to find out how big a carat is_.


End file.
